Folding egg-crate.



F. W. ROBERTSON.

FOLDING EGG CRATE;

APPLICATION FILEDIJUNE 29, 1914.

1,134,557. Patented Apr. 6, 1915.

2 SHBETS-SHEET 1.

L 16 I 15/. O l 1 40 T1 \5 4 J {1T l5 5 1 E I I THE NORRIS PETA.- LU., PHOTO-LITHQ, WASHINGTON, D. C.

F. W. ROBERTSON.

FOLDING EGG CRATE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 29.1914.

1,134,557. Patented Ap 1915.

2 SHEETS- T 2.

avwamtoz F- W ROBERTSON rnenx ROBERTSON.

T alltuhom it mdy concern:

Be itknown that I, FRANK W. ROBERTSON, a citizen of the UnitedStates,

residing at Orosi, in the county of Iulare and State of California, have; invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Folding: Eggject of occupy V e v.

" Another object of the 'presentinvention is Crates, of which hefollowing is a specifica- 1 tion, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

Thisinvention relatesto new and useful improvementsin metallic shipping cases, and more, particularly to what "is known as a folding metallic shipping case,

the present invention being 'thepro-j metallic 'shipping ease VlSlOIl of a. folding particularly adapted for use in shipping eggs'and merchandise offa like characterby express or freight and is so constructed that when set up ready for 'use,:it" securely locked against folding movement and, at the same'time, when" not in use or when ready fo rfreturn shipment, can "be quickly and readily foldedinto compact form so as tominimumspace.

theprovision of a device ofthe above character' which will"possess advantages in the invention consists.

points of eiiiciency' and durability, is 1nex pensive to manufacture and, at theflsa ne 'time,"is simple in construction andoperaion. 1

*With the above and other objects in view, in theno'vel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafterreferred to and more particularly pointed out in the specification and claim.

In the accompanying part of this application,

in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a top plan view. Fig.3 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on the line 3- 3, Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on the line M, Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view illustrating the manner of constructing the end fasteners. Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view illustrating the manner of fastening the central section in position; and Fig. 7 is a detail sectional view taken on the line 77, Fig. 2.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, 1 indicates the bottom of my improved receptacle, the ends of which are provided with suitable flanges 2 having portions thereof bent upon themselves to form sleeves ronnnve nee-caning.

Speci ficatioir of Letters Eaten Application filed June-2 9,

the main obdrawings forming a Figurel' is a side elevation of a folding receptacle constructed 1' .7. 0F OROSI," CALIFORNIA. 1

1914. Serial no. 848,004. 4

3, while the material between said'portions are bent downwar the lower face'of' the form supporting feet 4:. edto the'ends of the end pieces 5 having sleeves '6 formed upon the lower ends thereof and adapted to be arranged between and in alineme nt-with the sleeve3 upon the bottomgto' receive the Hingedly connectf' Patenteui pr.e,1e15;

ly and extended beyond} bottom member 1 to the bottom member 1, are

pivot'pin-7, thus pivotally connecting the.

end portions 5 with the bottom member 1 so that they will readily side walls of the receptacle, tudinal ,edges of which fold inwardly thereon.- The numerals 8 and 19 indicate the two the 'lowerlongi are pivotally con-' nected to the flange 2'ofthe bottom inthe same manner asythe end m'e'mbers 5, itbeing understood that the material 1 arranged Q; tweenjthe pivot sleeves is bent downwardly l upon the longitudinal edges of the bottom to 'form'the" side supporting feet 4; The ends of theside walls Sand 9 are provided adj acent their upper longitudinal edges with the inwardly longitudinally extending 'rece's'seslO having '11s to formahook portion .12,

downwardly extending re cesses' 11 which are inclined toward the ends 1 ofwhich will be, hereinafter:

end wall'si'are arranged in their up 4 positionsythe. side'flanges' '13 of theend walls the side walls 1 are engaged over the ends I and pivotally mounted within the end walls adjacent the upper ends thereof are the rods 1.4, the intermediate portions of which are U-shaped in"form,'as shown at 15.to form the handleswhichiare" adaptedito be ar-" ranged upon the outer sides of the end walls,

while the ends thereof are the hook portions 12 of the to engage over end walls side walls to retain said side and against movement when in an tion.

It will be noted that by the construction of the handles and hook members. on the rods 14, said hook members will be engaged with the hooks 12 when'the handle members outer sides ofthe endwalls, whereby said v I bent upon them-' selves to form books 16 which are adapted.

upright'posi- 1 00 side and end walls may be quickly and readily folded inwardly on to the bottom member 1, for return shipment. Pivotally connected to the upper longitudinal edges of the side walls 8 and 9 are the sections 17 and 18, which when folded inwardly form the cover for the receptacle, said sections being securely locked in a closed position by means of the longitudinal rod 19 which is passed through the loops 20 formed upon the sections 17, said loops extending up through the openings 21 formed in the section 18 so that after the rod is placed in position within the loops 20, the two cover sections will be securely held in locked position.

Pivotally secured to the bottom of the body member 1, upon the inner side thereof, is a central division plate 22, the upper edge of which is provided at each end thereof with inwardly extending recesses 23 forming points 24 and adapted for engagement thereover, are the loops 25 which are formed upon the central portions of the pivot pins 26, said pivot pins movably connecting the sections 17 and 18 with the side walls 8 and 9. From this it will be apparent that when the side and end walls are arranged in upright position, the division plate 22 will be retained in its upright effective position by means of the loops 25 which are engaged over the pointed or hooked portion 24. It will be apparent that any suitable form of division plates may be used Within the receptacle but it is preferable to have the usual form of foldable cardboard cell members.

From the above description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, it will be readily apparent that I have provided a simple and durable metallic shipping case which is preferably used for shipping eggs and various other articles of merchandise. It will also be noted that after the filled case has reached its destination and is emptied, it can be quickly and the appended claim.

readily folded into compact form so as to occupy a minimum space for storage purposes or for return shipment. The device in itself is extremely simple in construction, can be quickly and readily set up for use and rigidly retained in its upright position and, at the same time, can be manufactured and placed upon the market at a'comparatively low cost.

While I have shown and described the preferred form of my invention, it will be obvious that various changes in the details of construction and in the proportions may be resorted to for successfully carrying my invention into practice, without sacrificing any of the novel features or departing from the scope of theinvention, as defined by Having thus described this invention, what I claim is A device of the class described including a bottom member, side and end walls hingedly connected thereto, sleeves formed upon the side and end portions of said bottom member, the material arranged between said sleeves being bent outwardly to form supporting legs, movable rods carried by said end walls having U-shaped portions formed intermediate their ends to provide handles, hook portions formed upon the ends of said rods, said sidewalls having recesses formed in their ends to provide hooks adapted for engagement with the hooks on said rods, whereby to retain said side and end walls in theirupright positions, and a sectional cover adapted to be arranged above said side and end walls, as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

FRANK w. ROBERTSON. Witnesses H. L. ANDREws, H. NELSON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of ratents, Washington, D. G. 

